Dark Web Hacker Held Netflix to Ransom

It seems that the DarkOverLord, a dark web hacker is back. Recently, the hacker made anattack on Netflixthat went public with the illegal release of the yet-to-be-released season 5 of Orange is the New Black.

Behind the scenes

According to recent news, The Dark Over Lord had seemingly infiltrated the studio of Netflixfrom where he acquired access to one of Netflix’s most famous and watched shows – Orange Is the New Black. The Dark Over Lord got hold of the show’s latest season – season 5 – and demanded Netflix pay an undisclosed amount of ransom. The hacker threatened Netflix that if it does not give in to his demands, he would release the entire season publicly.

That being said, Netflix was not the only one who was being targeted here. According to other reports, the Dark Over Lord had also hacked other studios, which mean he has access to a number of other seasons and TV series which he can use to his advantage.

The next day after demanding Netflix pay his ransom, the Dark Over Lord made a public announcement claiming that they have released episodes 2 – 10 which are available for download through a torrent link on Pirate Bay.

This certainly indicates that Netflix neither paid the ransom nor did it do anything to handle the situation. All Netflix had to say after the incident was that they were aware of the situation and that there was a security breach in the system of a major production vendor. They also added that the FBI is working on the situation.

So, what’s the big deal

The release of one of the most watched show before its official release date is indeed a troubling incident. Nevertheless, it is not the first time that shows like this have been made public before being officially streamed.

Furthermore, people are mostly reluctant to download illegally from websites like Pirate Bay, suspecting that they might end up downloading a malware and knowing that they will be able to watch the show legally once it is released. What is required though, is that Netflix and all other studios need to tighten their cyber security if they wish to avoid further incidents.

Tony Gauda, CEO of ThinAir commented on the issue and said that “The Netflix hack shows that not all cyber-extortion campaigns require sophisticated malware. While Netflix ultimately chose not to pay the ransom, the attack serves as a proof-of-concept for the sort of data weaponization tactics that are becoming increasingly common among cyber criminals. Sensitive data, such as intellectual property, has become the lifeblood of many organizations, which makes the thought of paying to reduce potential fallout attractive.”

“Organization’s need to get ahead of this trend by putting defenses in place that can monitor and protect sensitive data, so that it doesn’t fall through the cracks. Once a security incident or breach is suspected they need to be able to quickly investigate and identify the source, scope, and other details so they can respond to it quickly. Having complete visibility over your company’s sensitive data at all times, before, during and after a breach is critical.”

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